The hidden details of the October surprise about Trump’s “sexual assaults”

Summary: As expected, an October surprise has arrived to tilt the vote. Key developments in the election (Circus 2016) are lost in the media frenzy about this new Trump soundbite, things which reveal much about America today — and our future. Let’s drag them into the light.

Contents

Clinton’s real platform.

About the morality of US presidents.

Our elites find an effective smear on Trump.

Our elites: “No need for Americans to vote!”

Implications of this October surprise.

The Anything But Issues election.

For More Information.

(1) Clinton’s real platform

Clinton has wisely decided to run against Trump on the Anything But Issues platform instead of her program of supporting Wall Street and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (does anyone seriously believe her public dithering about it?) plus aggressive foreign wars and domestic social engineering. This is folly. Avoiding these issues — and Trump’s more popular ones (described here, here, and here) — is ineffective against Trump — as the polls show – and gives her no mandate if she wins.

There are many more of these. Their numbers are growing, as a snowball grows rolling down hill. The Trump candidacy is finished.

(5) Results of this October surprise

“With Trump as president, Republican Party Platform will be dust. RNC’s double-cross means end of compromises. A suicide move for the RNC.”
— Tweet by Maximilian Forte (Prof anthropology, Concordia U).

Suppressed after the New Deal, the resurgence of populism took the Republican leadership by surprise. Some key elements of populism — opposition to our foreign wars, Wall Street, globalization, and open borders — are anathemas to the GOP’s core constituencies. Trump’s personal inadequacies — and they are legion — allowed them to minimize discussion of these issues. But the conflict is unresolvable.

We will soon see how the public reacts to the latest revelations and the accompanying propaganda campaign (this might be interesting). No matter if the lost support is large or small, the defection of so many Republican leaders dooms his campaign.

US politics will become interesting If populism finds a new, and hopefully better, leader than Trump. The reaction of GOP elites to populism suggests that they cannot accommodate it under their big tent. It might split the party. as in 1854 the Republicans split from the Whigs over slavery. Sanders’ progressive insurgency would be a damp squib by comparison. If so, history will repeat itself — but not as comedy. That would take America into the unknown.

Come back tomorrow for more about this.

(6) Other chapters in this series about the Anything But Issues election

“The same question should be asked of the Trump side of the equation.”

People don’t ask the question because everybody knows the answer. Everybody knows about Trump’s personal weaknesses.

“What have we done to deserve this? The answer (also IMO) is we’re lazy.”

Yes, that’s the key insight we should learn from 2016. As consumers, all we can do is whine about the menu and choose the least bad alternative our rulers provide. As citizens we can work the kitchen to produce better alternatives. It’s all about choice. It’s always about choice.

There were two October surprises launched this weekend; the Donald’s basic failings as a human being, which are currently getting lots of talk. Hillary’s private discussions with bankers, which, if we didn’t have the Donald’s personal issues, would have a pretty good chance of wrecking her campaign if the first issue were not dominating. Titillation needs constant reinforcement (which is probably waiting in the wings) but policy issues last a lot longer and Hillary has now left her future administration open to being second-guessed on every issue relating to her many major campaign supporters.

I continue to be impressed with the ability of both of the major party candidates to inflict grievous wounds on their own campaigns without assistance from the other side. This does not inspire confidence about the quality of decisions either candidate will make when they are in office.

The smart thing for Trump to do at this stage is to resign and let Pence have the stage for tonight’s debate. This would remove Hillary’s main talking point while leaving her issues in the debate spotlight.

As FM has said before, we, the people, need to start finding better presidential candidates immediately after the current election concludes or we are going to fondly remember how competent the 2016 candidates seem when compared with the 2020 candidates.

“which, if we didn’t have the Donald’s personal issues, would have a pretty good chance of wrecking her campaign if the first issue were not dominating.”

Cause and effect? Seems an unlikely coincidence.

“The smart thing for Trump to do at this stage is to resign and let Pence have the stage for tonight’s debate.”

Since the “sexual assault” charge is bogus, that would be quite a victory for election by smear, showing that Americans is just a rockery of excitable and ignorant bird-brains. This would also make a mockery of the primaries, on top of the damage done in the 2015-16 elections.

I cannot see any likely event that would do more damage to the US political system than following your advice.

“This would remove Hillary’s main talking point while leaving her issues in the debate spotlight.”

So a proof of smears as an effective — even decisive — political tool would result in a focus on the issues? Good luck with that.

Also, as I mentioned in this post, we’d be allowing a new tactic: if a party’s candidate for president is losing, then they can nominate a new candidate a month before the election! Why limit this to the presidency? There are mechanisms in most (all?) states allowing replacement of candidates who die or quit during the election. This could become a frequently used tactic, reducing our already circus-like elections to chaos.